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Chronology of Islam in America (2011)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
October 2011 - Page Two
Investigation sought in FBI training about Islam
Oct 3: Concerned the FBI is spreading "biased and inaccurate" information about Muslims during training sessions, a coalition of 16 Seattle-area community groups Monday called for an independent civil-rights investigation of the agency's methods for teaching agents about terrorism. In a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, the group accused the FBI of hiring anti-Islam experts to teach law-enforcement agents about Islam and of focusing a disproportionate amount of the training on the threat from Islamic terrorists. "I don't think there should be any training that links any ethnic group to any type of crime," said Arsalan Bukhari, executive director of the Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the civil-rights group heading up the coalition. The FBI's Seattle office declined to address the groups' specific complaints but noted in a prepared statement that "the FBI is currently conducting a comprehensive review of all training and reference materials that relate in any way to religion or culture." At a news conference, members of the Seattle coalition cited what they said was a troubling pattern of bias, including one incident in which a hired analyst told agent trainees in Quantico, Va., that peace was not possible between Muslims and non-Muslims. That analyst, William Gawthrop, reportedly told another group of law-enforcement officials that Islam itself was the problem, according to the news site wired.com, which posted a video.
Locally, the agency was criticized for focusing almost exclusively on Islamic groups during a presentation that was delivered as part of an outreach to members of the East African, Muslim, Sikh and Arab communities. It also included a discussion of state-sponsored terrorism that left some participants offended when the FBI showed the group a photo of what appeared to be the former leader of the Shia denomination. During a news conference at CAIR's Seattle offices, an engineer who sits on the board of the state's largest mosque said a handout linking Islam to Nazism was distributed during one of eight training sessions she attended as part of the FBI's Seattle Citizens' Academy. The handout was written by an FBI counterterrorism agent in Seattle and consisted of a two-page answer to a question about whether the Nazis and Arab states were allied during WW II and whether the current Arab-Israeli conflict is a continuation of Nazi anti-Semitism. [Seattle Times]
Muslim woman sues Southwest Airlines after being taken off flight
Oct 5: A Muslim woman from San Diego is suing Southwest Airlines after being taken off a flight in March when crew members deemed her behavior suspicious. Irum Abbasi, who was wearing a hijab, the Islamic head scarf, was seated on a flight preparing to depart from San Diego's Lindbergh Field for San Jose when a flight attendant became concerned about something she thought Abbasi had said on her cellphone. Abbasi later said that she told someone on her cellphone, "I have to go," but that the attendant thought she had said, "It's a go." Abbasi was escorted off the plane by an employee of the Transportation Security Administration. A U.S. citizen, Abbasi has lived in the United States for a decade after emigrating from Pakistan. She was taking a flight to San Jose, where she is a graduate student at San Jose State. The lawsuit, filed on her behalf by the Council on American-Islamic Relations-California and noted San Diego civil liberties attorney James McElroy, charges the airline with discrimination. Three days after the March 13 incident, the airline apologized and noted that Abbasi was seated on the next flight to San Jose and given a travel voucher. "We sincerely apologize for the customer's inconvenience," the airline said in its public apology. [Los Angeles Times]
Muslims urged to thank Ill. Rep. for questions on anti-Islam training
Oct 6: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on American Muslims and other people of conscience to thank Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) for her strong defense of the Muslim community during questioning today of FBI Director Robert Mueller by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. In her questioning, Rep. Schakowsky focused on allegations that some FBI agents have been trained to view mainstream American Muslims with suspicion and to view the faith of Islam itself as the source of terrorism and extremism. Director Mueller admitted that the FBI training in question did contain "inappropriate offensive content" but called the reported incidents of biased training "an aberration."
Rep. Schakowsky said to Director Mueller in part: "I am concerned, like 27 human rights and civil rights groups that wrote you a letter, about some of the FBI training dealing with the Muslim community and home-grown terrorism. And I know that there was a training -- a bureau training in Quantico and counterterrorism agents were shown a chart -- you've probably seen it, but here are copies of it -- that talked about how increased religiosity, adherence by pious and devoted, that became less violent as people of the Jewish faith or Christians got more religious. But it shows that people who support the Koran, the more religious they get, the more violent they are. That was the training that went on there. And I -- I understand that there's been trainings where the Prophet Mohammed has -- has actually been called a cult leader and that Islamic practice of giving charity is no more than, quote, 'funding mechanism for combat.' Director Mueller responded in part: "We have undertaken a review from top to bottom of our counterterrorism training. I think these are isolated incidents. And in the course of that review, we've had outreach to academicians and others to assist us in reviewing the materials and assuring that that offensive -- that offensive content is not -- does not appear." [CAIR]
NYPD commissioner grilled about police surveillance of Muslims
Oct 6: Facing tough questioning from city officials about police surveillance of Muslim neighborhoods, New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said today that his officers were not ethnic profiling and that the department's oversight protected civil liberties. Kelly's testimony before the City Council was his first appearance since an Associated Press investigation revealed that police scrutinized Muslim neighborhoods, often not because of any accusation of wrongdoing but because of residents' ethnicity. The department has sent plainclothes officers to eavesdrop in those communities, helping police build databases of where Muslims shop, eat, work and pray. Kelly said his officers were only following leads. Asked if police have similarly examined the Irish community, Kelly replied: "We don't do it ethnically, we do it geographically." Documents obtained by the AP revealed an extensive effort to catalog every aspect of life of inside the Moroccan enclave including restaurants, cafes, barber shops and gyms. The idea was to build a database that would help officers locate would-be terrorists trying to blend in to society. Documents indicate plans to build similar databases for other ethnicities. "I am concerned that the revelations in the AP story simply don't square with the assertion that the NYPD only follows leads," said Brand Lander, a Brooklyn councilman who has called for greater oversight of the department. [The Associated Press]
Islamic Center plan sparks controversy
Oct 6: Timoth Sylvia, pastor of HOPE United Church of Christ in Naperville, first noticed the signs saying “Vote No to Mosque on 248” early this week. The signs relate to the possible annexation into Naperville of a 14-acre property on 248th Avenue just south of 95th Street. The land is currently owned by the United Church of Christ’s national organization. However, the Islamic Center of Naperville is working to purchase the land and get it annexed into the city. The site includes a four-bedroom house which United Church of Christ used for offices before moving to its new location at 1701 Quincy Ave. in Naperville this summer. The rest of the property is farmland.
The annexation was discussed on Wednesday night at the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. The meeting may have been the spark for those who put the signs up in the area. Sylvia said he got word Monday that signs had been put up on the property. He said one sign put in the front yard of the property said “No Ragheads on 248.” “It was just disheartening,” he said. There were also signs saying a basic “Vote No to Mosque on 248” on utility poles up and down 248th Avenue, he said, and also along stretches of Route 59 in Naperville. The signs pointed the way to a heated meeting Wednesday on the plans.
The Islamic Center of Naperville was before the Planning and Zoning Commission looking to get the property annexed into the city. The land would be zoned residential. In the beginning, the group intends to use the existing house for administrative offices. In the long term, it may build a religious facility on the site. A religious facility would require a conditional use permit from the city. The issue sparked a lively give-and-take at the commission meeting. Community Planner Amy Emery presented information on the petition to the commission and spoke of a flier circulating that she said presented false information. The information included the statement that the Islamic Center was planning to build a mosque on the property. Emery pointed out that any structure proposed by the center would require a conditional use ordinance and be subject to the same scrutiny as any other development in Naperville, including studies related to parking, traffic and stormwater detention.
Islamic Center attorney Leonard Monson stressed that the center was proposing no physical changes to the property at the moment. Both Emery and Monson stressed that the annexation would be consistent with the city’s master plan and that the use of the land would not differ from the way it was being used by United Church of Christ.But Monson also admitted that the Islamic Center’s intent was to purchase the property for growth, saying they “intend to build a religious institution in the future,” a future he estimated to be anywhere from five to 20 years down the road. Monson also pointed out that the previous owner had planned to build a church on the property and that his client was seeking “the exact same rights” that the United Church of Christ was accorded. [Chicago-Sun-Times]
Hertz suspends 34 Muslim shuttle drivers at Seattle airport for praying on company time
Oct 7: In Seattle, thirty-four Muslim drivers for Hertz claimed they were suspended for praying during work hours, but the company contended they were reprimanded for abusing break times. Backed by their union, the drivers protested Wednesday outside the Hertz counter at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where they are based. “This is an outrageous assault on the rights of these workers and appears to be discriminatory based on their religious beliefs,” Tracey A. Thompson, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 117, said in a statement. Hertz said the workers suspended last week were violating provisions of a collective bargaining agreement and a settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reached two years ago. “The breaks were getting extended way beyond prayer time,” said Rich Broome, a spokesman for Hertz Global Holdings Inc. The union, though, said the clock-out rule was implemented without warning, adding that Hertz agreed in bargaining last year that its employees would not be required to clock out when they pray. The union has filed an unfair-labor-practices complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against Hertz for failing to notify the union in advance of what it called a policy change.
Hertz isn’t the only company that has been involved in a prayer dispute. In 2009, a new manager at a Minnesota Wal-Mart fired a Muslim man because he prayed during his breaks, even though the previous supervisor allowed him to pray. Eventually, Wal-Mart and the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations reached an agreement to give the Muslim man another job at a store near his home. Wal-Mart said at the time that the company was “glad everyone came together to resolve the issue on a positive note.” Since 2008, Muslim workers at JBS Swift & Co. meatpacking plants in Colorado and Nebraska have been in a dispute with the company over prayer breaks, leading to several firings. Workers alleged the company created a hostile environment for Muslims, including harassment during prayers. They had also requested that lunch breaks be modified during the holy month of Ramadan. The EEOC subsequently filed two lawsuits in 2010 that are pending. The company has said it fired workers after hundreds of them walked off the job without permission. [Washington Post]
Reps. send BOP letter on treatment of Muslim inmates in CMUs
Oct 13: This week, Members of the House of Representatives issued a Congressional Letter of Inquiry to the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) expressing their concerns with the Communications Management Units (CMUs), experimental federal prison units with overwhelmingly Muslim populations. The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) released the following statement in response: “We are pleased that Representative Scott and Members of the House of Representatives have issued this Letter of Inquiry to the Bureau of Prisons outlining their concerns regarding the extraordinary communications restrictions, the lack of due process, and the disproportionate number of Muslims in the CMUs. The Center for Constitutional Rights and CAIR met with members of Congress to brief them on the issue, and we commend them for standing up for justice. We look forward to seeing the BOP’s response to this inquiry, and we will continue to hold the BOP accountable as long as they isolate prisoners in experimental units.”
The Bureau of Prisons claims that the CMUs are designed to hold dangerous terrorists and other high-risk inmates; however, numerous prisoners are sent to the CMUs in retaliation for engaging in protected First Amendment activity, such as challenging poor treatment or other rights violations in the prison. Still others have clean disciplinary histories, and have been designated to the CMUs based on their religion. Individuals are designated to CMUs with no explanation and without a way to seek return to the general population—a due process violation that attorneys say allows for the abuse of power, retaliation and racial and religious profiling. The Center for Constitutional Rights filed Aref v. Holder, a federal lawsuit challenging policies and practices at the CMUs in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in March 2010 on behalf of several plaintiffs, including prisoners and their family members.
CCR and CAIR have partnered on advocacy and education around the country against the units for over a year, including joining with CMU prisoners, their family members and friends, civil rights and civil liberties groups, legal providers, psychologists, former corrections officers, environmental advocacy organizations, criminal defense attorneys, community and faith-based organizations and concerned individuals to urge the BOP to close the CMUs following a period for public comment only held nearly four years after the BOP had already established the experimental prison units. The BOP has given itself until October 2011 to take final action on the CMUs after the comments period. The Congressional letter of inquiry was submitted in light of the BOP’s review of this proposed rule. [CAIR]
Dream Act welcomed
Oct 14: The Council on American-Islamic Relations, California chapter (CAIR-CA) today applauded Gov. Brown and state lawmakers for passing two key pieces of legislation earlier this month, thereby ensuring higher education for more Californians and making schools safer for students. Brown and the California legislature signed the second part of the state Dream Act, AB131, into law after Brown signed the first part of the bill (AB 130) in late July. The legislation expanded access to private financial aid for undocumented college students who have attended high school in the U.S. AB 131 further expands access to education for undocumented students. CAIR-CA also commends the dedication of the governor, Senator Gil Cedillo, and other California activists who understand that the nation's prosperity lies in granting education access to all.
Passage of the other piece of legislation, AB 9 (also commonly called the Seth's Law), now requires schools to strengthen their policies around school-related discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying. AB 9, among other things, requires schools to now include in their procedures a method for receiving and investigating discrimination and harassment complaints. Schools will be required to act on discrimination and harassment complaints promptly to allow for proper and timely investigation and resolution.
"By passing the state Dream Act and Seth's Law, our Governor and legislature have rightly put California families and children first," said CAIR-CA President Masoud Nassimi. "AB 131 sends a clear message that students who work hard, regardless of their background or status, will now be able to achieve their educational dreams. And with the passage of AB 9, we are strengthening the tools to fight bullying, and ensure a safe and welcoming learning environment for our children." [CAIR]
Biased training colors FBI dealings with American Muslims
Oct 15: Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Bay Area Muslims have been unjustifiably visited by FBI agents over the past two years and some of those agents may have received biased, anti-Islamic training. That's according to three Bay Area attorneys and nearly 30 civil rights and community groups seeking more accountability from the FBI. And the complaints here about the FBI's alleged lack of sensitivity toward Muslims are mirroring similar criticisms across the country. The FBI says it does not condone prejudicial attitudes, and that it will review its training material and presenters. But it has acknowledged some agents received unprofessional training regarding Muslims, a revelation that has fueled criticism of FBI tactics in American Muslim communities. News reports have revealed that some FBI training documents have compared the Prophet Muhammad to a "cult leader" and taught that the more devout a Muslim is, the more likely he is to be violent.
"I can tell you that twice in two years I have watched the FBI myself ask clients, 'When given the choice between your religion and America, what would you choose?' " said longtime San Jose attorney Daniel Mayfield. "I just blew up when I heard that. It's very personal for me. Not only does it violate the basic First Amendment, but the same question was asked of me as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War." Such criticism is echoing in other cities and states including San Diego, Oklahoma, Ohio and Washington, D.C. In Seattle earlier this month, the Associated Press reported some Muslims at an FBI citizen's training academy were given a handout comparing Arab/Islamic writing with Nazi propaganda.
In the Bay Area, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Asian Law Caucus, both in San Francisco, and the Council on American Islamic Relations in Santa Clara have fired off two letters since late September to the FBI in San Francisco. The letters express concern about the treatment of Muslim citizens and request answers to questions such as: Are agents being exposed to Islamophobic FBI training? Are local police officers working with the FBI receiving this training, too? And if so, what is being done to remedy that? In regard to the Bay Area letters to her FBI office, Stephanie Douglas, the special agent in charge, responded by letter saying the FBI "values its relationships with all our community partners." Douglas acknowledged there was one FBI trainer who presented to a class of 37 agents in Virginia six months ago who is "no longer making presentations outside the FBI."
According to a series of Wired.com articles, some of the training materials compare Islam's founder, the Prophet Muhammad, to a "cult leader," and the religious obligation of giving charity, called zakat, to a "funding mechanism for combat." "That's like calling Jesus Christ a cult leader," ACLU attorney John Crew said. The FBI's headquarters in Washington, D.C., responded in mid-September with a statement essentially confirming that unprofessional training was given to a small group of agents.
The FBI's responses, especially from San Francisco, have been "completely inadequate," said Veena Dubal, an attorney with the Asian Law Caucus. Dubal said she has represented about 40 clients -- all men, from doctors to grocery store owners -- in the past two years who have been asked what she called irrelevant questions about their faith and political beliefs. "This is symbolic of the FBI's culture," Dubal said. "I think the whole intelligence community has felt a huge sense of guilt since 9/11 and they feel they cannot let another one happen again. So, their response has been to collect as much information as possible from Muslims, who they see as the perpetrators."
Zahra Billoo, executive director of CAIR in Santa Clara, said some Muslim men have told her they were tested by the FBI on their Arabic ability and to list their favorite Islamic scholars. In Contra Costa County, she said her clients were told that if they reported to the FBI on the goings-on at their mosque, the agents could help them with their pending immigration status. And in Alameda County, she said her clients were asked about whether they know anyone connected to the Arab Spring. [Mercury News]
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